I'm calling it -- Trump won. Actually, no need, he did so himself.

The real agon of Donald J. Trump, after all, has never been about trouncing Democrats, lowering taxes or curbing immigration. It was probably never about money, either.


The true object of his conquest, it appears, has always been pop culture. It was always about the ​applause, the ​ratings, and the ​crowd size.


And today -- Monday, March 6, 2018, at 8:25 TET (Trump Executive Time) -- Trump tweeted victory.

He's not wrong. For the first time ​on record, The Academy Awards saw their ratings plummet below 30 million viewers. And as was the case ​, the decline is  


Of course, Oscars ratings have been declining since ​about 2004 and for reasons that have nothing to do with the President. And yet, it's very difficult not to view this in the (Exhausting? Sleazy?) context of Trump's war with the coastal entertainment industry. 


Though both cloak themselves in ideologies, Trump and Hollywood haven't been fighting over politics, really, but over our attention. And today the winner is clear.


For all the big names that crowded the red carpet on Sunday, Trump might be the only real star left shining. (Just kidding, of course)!

CHATTER

The Trump crowd made shunning the Oscars a point of honor...

...and a cause for prayer.

Ben Shapiro even took his gloating all the way to Fox & Friends.

John Podhoretz put the blame for the ratings slump on Jimmy Kimmel, who hosted the event for a second year in a row.

Kimmel, for his part, reminded our ratings-minded commander-in-chief that not all numbers are in his favor.